Food shopping, cooking and eating

When we lived in Costa Rica, one of the big shocks was how much groceries cost, and how hard it was to figure out what to cook. That experience certainly made this transition easier, because our few "favorite" recipes that worked in Costa Rica also work here (Chuck Wagon Buns, "Chewy, Spicy Chicken", Chicken Fajitas, Spagetti and Hamburger Stroganoff - although I can't bring myself to spend the amount of money it would take to add fresh mushrooms). We were also able to revive one of our Costa Rican favorites - sausage and peppers on a roll. Ever since we lived in CR, the girls have longed for salchichon, which is CR's version of sausage.  They don't quite have the same thing here, but since chorizo's are so common and popular, I decided to revive the dish, Paraguayan style.

One thing that makes cooking and eating easier (and more dangerous) here is the AMPLE supply of bakeries with inexpensive, fresh baked bread.  Chuck wagon buns are definitely better on fresh hamburger buns that are sometimes hot when I get them!  Everyone in the family seems to enjoy open faced grilled cheese (mozarella), with fresh tomatoe and basil (Arianna skips that part) on yummy ciabatta bread - it's a great lunch.

On Tuesdays there is a great "outdoor" market (which is actually in the underground parking area at the mall), where there is an abundance of great produce at very reasonable prices.   I love being able to buy cherry tomatoes every week.  We are thrilled to have "real" corn on the cob (not the kind used only in soup which is what we had in Costa Rica) and local peaches are just becoming available (there were imported ones before, but they were very expensive).  Strawberries were just starting to be in season when we arrived in early July, but I think they are about finished now.  I've been told that we won't see them again until next year when they are gone, so I did freeze some (but probably not enough to last very long!).

Here's a photo of some very strange fresh raspberries that I bought here. We didn't really like them so we used them up in smoothies:

Fortunately, you can buy frozen "normal" raspberries for a reasonable price.

Here are the yummier strawberries:

Later on I'll fill you in on eating out (including ice cream)!